Why no broccoli in a can?

Hey Matt:

I was just doing my own thing when my phone rang this morning. It's my sister with another stupid question. Why is there no canned broccoli? I searched your archives for this but could not find the answer. Can you please tell me?

-- The Smart Sister, the net

Mmm-mmmmmm! Tell Sis that would be almost as tasty as canned lettuce! I guess we have nothing in the archives about canned broccoli because she's the only person to seriously consider the idea. Because of the need to process canned vegetables with high heat, the cannable ones that survive in attractive form are usually the sturdy: corn, beets, carrots, garbanzo beans, or the ones that are already mushy, like tomatoes. Broccoli stems might survive canning, but the delicate tops-- the whole point of broccoli, you'll have to admit-- would likely turn to mush. Blanching and flash-freezing suits the plant much better.